Naoya and the Future Heroes
by HopeGale
Summary: A year after the events that enveloped Mikage-cho began, Naoya is invited by Philemon to visit his successors in the future to see how the power of Persona evolves over time. One thing Philemon didn't tell him, though, was that he'd know what happens to them before they do!
1. Naoya Goes Down the Rabbit Hole

It's been a whole year already, hasn't it?

I look over at my calendar and see that the date on it matches up with where I remember it being that fateful day. A year ago today, a bunch of my friends and I decided to settle a bet we had going between two of us, Brown and Mark, by playing the Persona Game and seeing if anything would actually happen.

Oh, yeah. Something happened, alright. First it was the strange little girl that popped up, then the lights started freaking out, and then I got knocked out by lightning and taken to the collective unconscious where a man named Philemon introduced me to a world I never even knew existed - the world of Persona. I didn't know what to make of it until a visit to another one of my friends, Maki Sonomura, went awry in the craziest way possible with an earthquake causing the place to shift around and demons to spawn all over the city.

From there, the rabbit hole just went deeper and deeper. The Deva System, Kandori's ambitions of becoming a god, that other world made from Maki's inner feelings... it was all so unreal, but we made it through all alive. We took control of our other selves, our Personas, and triumphed over every obstacle that was placed before us. Eventually, the people of Mikage-cho all put the incident behind them and we all went back to our normal lives.

That means for me, I'm back at school. I'm a third-year now, which means I'm on top along with the rest of my friends. Maki recovered from her condition and is now going to school with us; she's been really happy that she's finally getting to live something of a normal life, but at the same time I can see that she still feels grief about what happened last year. I've been trying to get her to open up more about it, to let her know that we've got her back if anyone tries to start something with her about it, but it's been going pretty slowly. Still, she's so much better off now that she's practically a different person.

I put on my uniform, straightening it out. I swear this is one of the ugliest school uniforms I've ever seen, but once I graduate I'll never have to wear it again. I move over to close my open bedroom window when a familiar sight comes into my view: a shining, gold butterfly. It lands in the palm of my hand, and I sigh as I remember what this means. Philemon wants something from me, and as soon as I contemplate what it could possibly be, my view goes black and I'm suddenly thrust into the depths of the collective unconscious once again.

"Welcome back, Naoya. It is good to see you are still well." The man in the butterfly mask with the white coat and long ponytail says to me, as we both stand on the checkerboard floor that decorates part of his shrine.

"Know that I have called you here not to send you on another mission, but to instead grant you a vision of the future to come. Consider it a reward for having done so well in protecting this world from disaster."

"A reward, huh? I guess that means the future you're going to show me must be pretty good, then. Am I going to be able to make millions betting on sports games that haven't happened yet?" If Philemon thinks my joke is funny, I don't know, because that mask of his stays put on his face. I've seen his face once, when he removed it to thank me and the others for taking care of business. I guess that was a one-time deal, because now it's back to hiding behind the mask.

"The adversaries you have faced are not the only ones that will threaten your world. As such, I will select new heroes to grant the power of Persona to in order to deal with the varied opponents that will emerge. I will take you through time and space, to meet with them and learn about the futures that you and your friends have made possible."

"Other heroes. I guess that means you're saying I've had my time in the spotlight already, otherwise you'd be telling me how I'm supposed to fight whatever these threats are. I'm both disappointed and relieved. Well... as long as you put me back where you found me once we're done, I'm up for a little future visitation. Hey, but one question before we go: are you sure this isn't going to screw up the timeline, letting me know how things are going to turn out before they happen?"

"I know you well enough to be assured that it will not adversely affect what will come to pass. Now, come. We have much to see." Philemon turns and opens a portal behind him leading into the blackness. I'm pretty excited, because he considered this a reward, but at the same time I'm feeling pretty nervous too. I mean, as crazy as what happened to me was, there are going to be other incidents just like it in the future? I guess I'm about to learn just how deep Philemon's rabbit hole goes...

* * *

 **A/N: I felt like writing something related to Persona 1, and then it became "Let's have Naoya meet all the protagonists from the other games!" I'm also trying out a much-shorter average chapter length, just to see if I can work brevity into my writing. We'll see where this goes.**


	2. Naoya Has Lunch With Tatsuya Suou

After I go inside the portal, Philemon and I are floating through the depths of time and space. From inside his coat, he retrieves a small red booklet and hands it to me. It has the kanji for "sin" on its cover, along with the words "Innocent Sin" written below it in English.

"What you will need to know about the time and place you are going to will be contained within this booklet. Do not worry about losing it, as it will always find its way back to you promptly if you become separated from it. Also, you are the only person that can understand its words - it will appear completely unintelligible to anyone besides you. Take your time and learn about who you will be meeting before interacting with them. They do not yet know of their fate, for what will happen to them has not yet come to pass." I open the booklet and see the portrait of one Tatsuya Suou, third-year student at Seven Sisters High School. Apparently he represents the Sun Arcana, his initial Persona is Vulcanus, he has an older brother named Katsuya who's on the local police force, and... I close the booklet and give Philemon a look full of questions.

"Alright... so how does this not majorly change the future? Even if I keep quiet about it, I'm not supposed to even be there. You of all people should know about the butterfly effect, right? Are you going to wipe their memories or something once I leave?" He looks over at me and says,

"There are innumerable ways the world can change based upon one seemingly insignificant difference. For as many ways as things can change, there exist just as many timelines to express those possibilities. I will not forbid you from speaking of the future to those you meet, and you should know that whatever you choose to do will not affect your own future in any way. What you do with the knowledge I have granted you is up to you. Now, we are almost at the designated place. Whenever you are finished, recite the words on the back cover of the booklet and I will come to take you to the next time and place." I turn the booklet over and silently read the words Philemon is going to have me say:

 _I have seen those who would know their true selves_

 _And I take this understanding with me beyond time and space_

 _Into the depths of my soul, for better or for worse._

When I look up again, I find myself standing outside of a Peace Diner, one that looks pretty different from the ones back home. I look around and see the scenery that my booklet tells me is part of Sumaru City, Tatsuya's hometown. I guess he's supposed to come in here today and I'm going to meet him, so I go inside. A quick look around the place tells me he's not here yet, so I sit down and read the rest of the booklet while I wait for him to show up.

According to his date of birth and the fact that he's a third-year right now, it looks like I'm in the year 1999. Not too far in the future, but for sure everyone I know has already graduated and moved on to bigger and better things by now. Let's see: this says that as a kid, Tatsuya and a bunch of his friends formed a group they called the Masked Circle because they'd all show up wearing Phoenix Ranger Featherman R masks and never take them off while they were hanging out together. That's cool, I guess. I turn the page and catch a familiar name on the left side - Yukino Mayuzumi. Whoa, Yuki's actually a part of this? Yeah, she sure is. Apparently by this time in '99, she'll have a job as a photographer... and helps out Tatsuya and the others deal with all the rumors coming true? Wait, what?

Yeah, I read that right. Rumors start coming true in Sumaru City, Tatsuya and his friends awaken to their Personas since they played the Persona Game a long, long time ago... they run around chasing this clown named Joker and stamping out a bunch of crazy things that happen along the way... apparently one of the rumors was that Adolf Hitler and his Last Battalion come out of hiding to summon an alien spaceship named Xibalba... and it ends with the world being _destroyed_ by Philemon's rival Nyarlathotep and Tatsuya being forced to start over in a different timeline as the only one who remembers anything?! What the hell?!

I hear the sound of the door opening and look up from the booklet to see that Suou's walking through it, wearing the school uniform that he's wearing in the booklet's picture. He's alone, which I guess is good for me since he won't have any of his friends to pull him away. What am I even supposed to _talk_ to him about? Hey, I'm Naoya Toudou, and I'm here to tell you about how your life's going to get shot to hell? This booklet is telling me that the only way things can be fixed is to make it so Tatsuya's Masked Circle never forms, which already happened a decade ago.

He's walking up to the counter right now. I rummage through my pockets and find that somewhere on the way over here, Philemon slipped a huge wad of cash into my pocket - I guess for situations just like this where I might need to pay for something, like a Peace Burger and a drink. I'm not gonna be like that police officer who knocks on someone's door to tell them their kid died in a car wreck. This guy shouldn't know what's going to happen to him. No, I'm just gonna sit him down, have a nice lunch with him, and then get back to Philemon to ask him what the hell is going on with this future.

"Hey, Suou-san!" I call out to him. He looks back at me and says,

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Nah, but I know you. The name's Naoya Toudou. Apparently you're kind of a big shot at Seven Sisters, being a third-year and all. What do you say you and me have lunch together? I'm buying." He takes out a lighter from his pocket and flicks it open and closed, looking at me the entire time. He does it so effortlessly he probably doesn't even realize he's doing it sometimes, I bet.

"Well, I've never seen or heard of you before, but if you're going to buy me lunch, I'm not going to say no to that." We both order our food together and sit down at the booth I was just at a minute ago. Tatsuya notices the booklet on the table and gestures towards it with his head.

"What's that?" I grab it and shove it in my pocket.

"Oh, uh... just some book I was reading. Nothing exciting. Kinda wish I hadn't gotten it." That's at least half of the truth. Tatsuya notices the III symbol on my school uniform and says,

"We don't go to the same school, but even so, it looks like we're in the same year, Toudou-san."

"Nah, you don't have to be all formal with me. Just call me Naoya." We both eat our meals in silence for a couple of minutes, neither of us having anything to say to the other. He's supposed to be kind of a loner, keeps to himself even though he's got friends and people know him, and he even has a motorcycle to reinforce the idea that he's this not-so-lone wolf type.

"So, what do you want? I find it hard to believe a stranger would just up and buy me lunch purely out of the goodness of their heart."

"It's... I wanted some information out of you, I guess. Have you heard any strange rumors lately?" Tatsuya nods, and he looks at me like I'm hardly the first person to ask him that question.

"Oh, I see. You're another rumormonger. Or at least, you want to know the latest gossip. Most people just tell me whatever rumors they know in exchange, but I definitely don't object to your method of bribing me with food instead. I might be able to save enough money to fix up my bike if more people did it your way. Well, here's what I know..." He goes on to tell me about the rumor surrounding the clock tower at his school, about how one of the restaurants in town sells weapons if you know just what to order, and about how one of the clothing shops has cheap, crappy clothes for sale. It's that first one that stands out to me, the thing about how if the rundown clock tower at Sevens starts up again, bad things will happen. That's probably how all that rumors-coming-true craziness starts, with that clock tower. Sheesh, it's just like what happened to me, except in my case I participated in something that was clearly a summoning ritual. There's no such warning for this guy - it's just going to happen to him and even if I tell him, he'll just think it's another rumor or that I've gone nuts.

"You haven't taken a single bite out of your Peace Burger yet. You shouldn't let it get cold." He says, taking a sip from his drink. I look down at the cheeseburger I ordered and take a giant bite out of it, making Tatsuya raise his eyebrows at me. He doesn't say anything until I've finished swallowing.

"There's something off about you. You seem... I don't know, like you've got something to hide."

"Yeah, well, don't we all have something to hide? I'm not out to do anybody any harm, alright?"

"No, I didn't mean it like that. It's... I can't put my finger on it, but it feels like you and I have something in common, something that most people don't know about. I couldn't tell you what it is. It's just a feeling I have." He pulls out his lighter and flicks it while his hand's resting on the table. It seems more like a nervous habit of his than anything else right now. I'm going to go out on a limb here with this one, but Philemon _did_ tell me I could basically do whatever I want and not get into trouble, so...

"I can tell you what it is. You recognize that we both have a special power inside of us, a power called Persona. That sound familiar to you at all?" He looks up from his lighter, honestly surprised.

"Persona... I..." He freezes up, and looks down at his mostly-eaten burger as if it was about to eat _him_ instead. He looks at the lighter, blinks, and then puts it away really quickly, as if he wasn't supposed to have it out in the first place.

"You have one, too." He says quietly, looking down. I don't want to pull out the booklet in front of him to get why he's reacting like having a Persona is this terrible thing, but even without it I can already tell _something_ happened with his other self to make him that bothered just by hearing about it.

"Yeah. Listen, you don't have to tell me what happened with yours. I can tell it's really screwed you up. I just... speaking as someone who used one a _lot_ in the past, I want to tell you that you're gonna do a _lot_ of good with it in the future. The power you were given, it's capable of saving people - lots of people. You wanna know how I know that? Because my friends and I already did it before with _our_ Personas. Sure, we don't really know each other, but like you said, we have that one thing in common. I can do it, and you can do it too. You just have to believe in yourself." Sheesh, I'm starting to remind myself of Brown with the pep talks, except Brown would've told Tatsuya how awesome he was and how much of a hero he was to people instead.

"You really think that. How can you be so sure?" I don't want to tell him that Philemon basically handed me a timeline of events telling me what's going to happen. Yeah, Tatsuya will go through hell only to have the bad guy win - but that's not the end, and Philemon's words in that booklet prove it. I don't know what happens after he starts over, but I gotta believe he comes through in the end. He just has to.

"Because I have hope for the future. Living without hope? That's no way to live. Even if everything looks like it'll never get better, the only way you're gonna be able to keep moving forward is if you keep hoping in the future. Always think positive." Tatsuya smirks at that last statement, like he'd heard it before. He eats the rest of his burger and finishes off his drink, and shakes his head at me while cracking a smile.

"Naoya-kun, you really are something else. I can believe you have a lot of friends back wherever you're from. I don't know if I'll ever see you again, but in case I don't... thanks for the food, and thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll try to remember what you told me." He begins to get up from the booth.

"See you around, Tatsuya-kun." I say to him as he leaves the booth, tossing his trash and leaving the Peace Diner. I finish up my own food, throw it away, and step outside to get one last look at Sumaru City before it gets embroiled in chaos. To think, in this timeline this one city is the only remnant of humanity that survives after Nyarlatowhateverhisnameis blows the planet to smithereens. That's... depressing as hell. I pull out the book before I start thinking about what else that would mean, and read the words on the back cover out loud so Philemon can come get me and I can ask him just what kind of "reward" he thinks this is supposed to be.

 _I have seen those who would know their true selves_

 _And I take this understanding with me beyond time and space_

 _Into the depths of my soul, for better or for worse._

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 **A/N: Well, even though I actually played through Persona 2: Innocent Sin myself, I still don't know if I captured Tatsuya's personality correctly. How he acts in Eternal Punishment is kinda... different than how he acts in Innocent Sin, and that's partly up to the player. I'm going to go in order across the games: next up is Maya, then Minato, then Aigis (because I think The Answer is significant enough to merit its own chapter), then Minako (because I like P3P), and finally Yu. When Persona 5 eventually comes out in English and I get around to finishing its story, I'll add a chapter for the protagonist of that game as well.**

 **rainandsky415 - I do have some ideas regarding that transition, but you'll have to wait for the Persona 3 chapters to see them. Thanks for the review!**


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